The Mediterranean wading bird, the black-winged stilt, has hatched its first chicks safely on English soil for the first time in nearly 30 years.

Black-winged stilts are large black-and-white waders that are usually found in the Mediterranean, but it is thought that a dry spell in southern Spain brought the birds to southern Britain.

The last successful British breeding attempt by black-winged stilts was in Norfolk in 1987.

To protect the nest this year the RSPB organised a 24-hour watch with the help of a rota of volunteers.

“It’s very exciting that the chicks are beginning to hatch,” said RSPB Cliffe Pools warden Andy Daw. “We managed to protect the eggs, but there are still challenges ahead because the chicks will become more vulnerable to predation.

“Cliffe Pools has 10 per cent of the UK’s saline lagoons, a very rare habitat which gives the black-winged stilts what they need to breed and raise chicks.

“In terms of people viewing the birds, at the moment they are on an island but the water is too deep for feeding so they will probably swim the chicks across so they can feed in shallower waters around the coastguard flats, which may make them a bit more difficult to see.”